The first phase of the "Tip to Top" Hoerikwaggo Hiking trail has been launched!

I really don't know why such a trail hasn't been launched here before? It's really a spectacular hike and I'm sure once it's 100% complete it's set to become one of the top (if not the best) trails in South Africa!

If anybody has photo's or comments about any of the Hoerikwaggo Trails, post them here!

I love the classical view of Table Mountain from Blaauwberg beach, and last weekend when we did the Hoerikwaggo trail the beauty behind that picture amazed me! I never expected there to be such a good trail, variety in vegetation, views, and nice accommodations. The guides were really cool and knowledgeable; we had good fun with them. This trail was really the way I like outdoor activities: a good hike during the day, and to arrive in a comfortable house, with delicious food and a good glass of wine. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to explore Cape Town from a different perspective.

I hope you have a look at this report too...there is an option to not do the first day of the trail (the city tour)...if you have any other questions regarding the trail, I'll be happy to assist where I can?

Just a comment re: the cost of the Table Mountain Trail. There is now an option to leave out the city tour leg of the trail on the first day, making this the perfect weekend option for capetonians.

Further to this, the hike is a luxury product, with very up market accommodation and great catering-7 sumptious meals, from the restaurant lunch on day one, the Cape Malay buffet feast in the evening, the full breakfast and packed lunch, extravagent braai on night two, and then the next day's breakfast and lunch...the hike is portered, the cable car paid for, and you have dedicated and knowledgable guides with you all the way-and you get to sleep on top of the mountain ...relative to many other activities, once you add up all the costs over the three days...perhaps not so bad?

There are other options too-the silvermine, orangekloof and cape of good hope trails...check out the Hoerikwaggo website

Last edited by dianne on Fri Jul 13, 2007 10:01 am, edited 2 times in total.

Hikers looking for a bit of a challenge should sign up for the second leg of the Hoerikwaggo Trail, which will be opened at the end of the month.

The 18km trail, which begins near Slangkop Lighthouse and ends in Silvermine, is the toughest section of the hiking trail through Table Mountain National Park, which will eventually link Cape Point with Table Mountain.

Stephen Lamb, project manager of the trail, said that, when completed, the Hoerikwaggo Trail Tented Classic will take six days and five nights.

The two-day section from Silvermine to Table Mountain, with an overnight stop at the tented camp at Orange Kloof, was opened in October.

"The section from Slangkop to Silvermine has spectacular views and will be the most challenging on the six-day trail. You need to be fit and to carry plenty of water. There is a 5km walk along Noordhoek beach, which is lovely, and there we've constructed a trail from The Hoek, at the end of the beach, up to the top of Chapman's Peak, where the views are just spectacular.

"The trail then winds down and up again over Noordhoek Peak, and then down to the tented camp at Silvermine. We were proud of the camp we built at Orange Kloof, but we think the one at Silvermine is even better," Lamb said.

National Park staff take hikers' baggage by vehicle from Slangkop to Silvermine, so all hikers need to carry is their day packs. Hikers are accompanied by two National Park trail guides, who have radio links to 24-hour emergency staff.

Tough section of hiking trail "Eventually, hikers will be able to do the whole six-day hike, but until those are built, we are catering for local hikers who are looking for a two-day breakaway," Lamb said.

The Silvermine camp sleeps 12 and is equipped with hot showers, a fridge, stove, cooking utensils and a braai place.

"We've kept the theme of 'touch the earth lightly', so instead of bricks and concrete, we've used sandbags and recycled metal and wood. We've used energy-efficient designs and all the wood is made from alien vegetation. There's the most beautiful hand-cut pine panelling," he said.

Does the option exist to do the Hoerikwaggo Trail on one's own without a guide, or can one only camp overnight on the mountain within a guided tour? I ask because my mates and I would prefer to rough it along the trail, instead of having our gear ported and sleeping in luxury tents!

I'm also curious as to whether this trail follows and links existing trails, or if an entirely new trail is being carved through the mountains? I used to hike on Table Mountain every weekend, but seldom have the opportunity since leaving Kaapstad.

I did the Table Mountain Trail (wow) but will see if we can get some more feedback from Stephen himself on the rest-don't want to give the misconception that the Hoerikwaggo products only cater for a luxuery market!

In response to your question - firstly, no, one cannot sleep overnight in the new Hoerikwaggo Trails' Tented Trail campsites without having a guide, or being part of the trail itself. But this in no way infers that it is exclusionary.

We do hope to open a trail "called the indoor clasic" that caters to your wishes in a year or two's time - once the tented trail from Cape Point to Cape Town is complete. Unfortunately - we are mere humans and have limited capacity to create well-built trails and overnight facilities, so sorry for the wait but good trails and good planning takes time. Time well invested.

This indoor trail (mentioned above) is intended to be non-portered and thus cheaper that the tented trail. However all the trails that involve overnighting on the mountain (in the TMNP) are guided. This again, is for good reason (to keep people safe, and the mountain safe from people..) while sleeping in the unique City Wilderness of Table Mountain.

You will be pleased to know that no new trails have been created, they are all sub-sets of existing trails that have been upgraded over the past three years. This work has been done by our poverty relief teams - people living in townships around TM and they have done a magnificent job of doing so.

Remember that there were over 1000 km's of paths and tracks on TM Chain, and that we have rationalised many of them, as they where created and left unchecked for some time prior to the Park starting it's EPWP Program three years ago. This contributed to erosion, people getting lost on the mountain and uncontrolled visitor management (which goes hand in hand with us trying to keep hikers safe)

So it's all about "softening the footprint of tourism" on our beloved mountain while doing the best to meet the needs of those who love and enjoy it. I like to say: "The fynbos and the fyn-mense. Equally important"

Lastly, the Hoerikwaggo Trails refers to a grouping of trails - not just one trail. It would be confusing to the end user if he/she did not know this. For more info, please visit our website www.hoerikwaggotrails.co.za

The mountain you used to walk on is still here, and looking better each day thanks to the people who are conserving it (SANaprks and the citizens of Cape Town alike) I hope you have time to come back sometime soon - and walk the pathways of your World Heritage site again.

I spotted the request for reports and photos about the Hoerikwaggo trails - an all-female group of us did the Silvermine - Table Mountain section in April 2007 and loved it. We thoroughly impressed the guides with our braai skills )

Photos and more detail here: (link edited to comply with forum guidelines. If you really want to read my report you can PM me, but suffice to say this is a trail well worth doing!)

We LOVED the 'tents' - more like cabins, so beautifully designed and so innovative - and could not rate our guides highly enough both for their knowledge and their personability.

This is a great set of trails and I'm looking forward to doing Slangkop to Silvermine next. It's wonderful to see the mountain paths so well looked after.

joubege wrote:We are doing the Orangekloof section of the Hoerikwaggo trial this week, but we do not know what time this hike normally starts.

A warm welcome to the forum, joubege Unfortunately I don't have the answer to your question but you could pop off a e-mail to hoerikwaggobookings@sanparks.org or phone them on +27 (0) 21 422 2816, between 08:00 and 16:00 weekdays.